Getting Started #

This guide will help you get Bento up and running in your application.

Prerequisites #

• Node.js 18+
• npm or yarn
• An OpenRouter API key

Installation #

There are two ways to get started with Bento:

Option 1: Use the CLI (Recommended) #

The fastest way to get started is using our CLI tool:

npx create-bento-app@latest

This will:

1. Let you choose your framework (React, Next.js, SvelteKit, Vue)
2. Create a new project using that framework's official CLI
3. Add Bento integration with setup instructions

Option 2: Add to Existing Project #

If you have an existing project, install the core package:

npm install bento-core

Basic Setup #

1. Environment Variables #

Create a .env file in your project root:

# Required
OPENROUTER_API_KEY=your-api-key-here

# Optional
PORT=3001
VECTOR_DB_PATH=./data/vectors
UPLOAD_DIR=./data/uploads
MAX_FILE_SIZE=10485760
SITE_URL=http://localhost:3001

2. Create the Server #

For Next.js #

Create app/api/bento/[...path]/route.ts:

import { createBentoServer } from 'bento-core';

const server = createBentoServer({
  openRouterKey: process.env.OPENROUTER_API_KEY!,
});

export async function GET(request: Request) {
  return server.fetch(request);
}

export async function POST(request: Request) {
  return server.fetch(request);
}

For Express/Node.js #

Create server.js:

import { createBentoServer } from 'bento-core';
import dotenv from 'dotenv';

dotenv.config();

const server = createBentoServer({
  openRouterKey: process.env.OPENROUTER_API_KEY,
  port: 3001,
  corsOrigins: ['http://localhost:3000']
});

server.start();

For React/Vue (Standalone) #

Run Bento as a separate server:

// server.ts
import { createBentoServer } from 'bento-core';

const server = createBentoServer({
  openRouterKey: process.env.OPENROUTER_API_KEY!,
  port: 3001,
  corsOrigins: ['http://localhost:5173'],
});

server.start();

3. Make Your First Request #

Once your server is running, you can make requests to the Bento API:

// Send a chat message
const response = await fetch('/api/bento/chat', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    messages: [
      { role: 'user', content: 'Hello, Bento!' }
    ],
    model: 'default-llm-model',
    stream: true
  })
});

// Handle streaming response
const reader = response.body?.getReader();
const decoder = new TextDecoder();

while (true) {
  const { done, value } = await reader.read();
  if (done) break;
  
  const chunk = decoder.decode(value);
  console.log(chunk); // Process each chunk
}

Next Steps #

• Configure user isolation for multi-user apps
• Enable RAG for document-based chat
• Explore the API for all available endpoints
• View examples for complete implementations

Troubleshooting #

API Key Issues #

If you're getting authentication errors:

1. Make sure your .env file is in the project root
2. Verify your API key at OpenRouter
3. Check that environment variables are loaded (use dotenv package)

CORS Errors #

If you're getting CORS errors:

1. Add your frontend URL to corsOrigins in the server config
2. Make sure to include credentials in your fetch requests

TypeScript Errors #

If you're getting type errors:

1. Make sure you have @types/node installed
2. Set "moduleResolution": "node" in your tsconfig.json

Need help? Open an issue on GitHub.